Complete Han Fu - (Literary and Colloquial Contrast)

Author: Fei Zenggang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The fu was the most popular literary form during the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, to the extent that it had a specific term "Han fu" and was regarded as the representative of literature during the Han period. For example, Qing Dynasty scholar Jiao Xun said: "Each era has its own dominant literary form. If we compile a collection starting from the Chu Ci, the Han Dynasty should focus on its fu, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, and Tang should focus on five-character poetry, the Song should focus on ci, and the Yuan should focus on qu." ("Yi Yu Ruyi Lü") Modern scholar Wang Guowei said: "Every era has its own literature. The Chu Ci represents the Chu, the fu represents the Han, the parallel prose represents the Six Dynasties, poetry represents the Tang, ci represents the Song, and qu represents the Yuan—all of which are called the literature of their respective eras, and none can be followed by later generations." ("Preface to the History of Song and Yuan Drama") The Han fu, like Tang poetry, Song ci, and Yuan qu, is indicated by the era before the literary form, where "shi" signifies that this form reached its peak during that era, rather than implying that it suddenly appeared. Its emergence and formation had a historical development process. As a literary genre, according to existing materials, the fu was earliest (popular) in the Warring States period. Based on the general patterns of literary genre formation in China, we can also deduce that before scholars introduced it to the literary scene, the fu, as a literary genre, may have long been circulated among the common people as a popular literary form.